The headlight on my motorcycle (but this would apply to any non-sealed beam headlight) is bit foggy on the inside.

After removing the H4 bulb what can I use to clean the inside out.

I was thinking of swishing Isopropyl or denatured alcohol inside of it and letting dry out..........

I want to clean it out, but don't want to screw up the reflector..........

_________________
Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

Headlamps get that foggy appearance on the inside for two reasons: Buildup of cooked dust, dirt from condensate, and deposited offgas from sealing materials, or a dead reflector overcoat. The reflector is made out of vapour-sputtered aluminum with a silica or lacquer overcoat to prevent oxidation of the very thin aluminum layer. Once the overcoat breaks down, the reflector's dead. Washing the lamp is possible if done carefully. If it's foggy due to dirt buildup, washing will clean it. If it's foggy due to dead overcoat, washing will usually finish it off and either it won't unfog or you'll see the reflector shiny stuff go down the drain when you rinse the lamp out.

To degas headlamps:

Remove the lamp assemblies and remove the bulbs. Place one or two drops of
transparent liquid dish detergent in each lamp. (e.g. regular green
Palmolive, regular blue Dawn, regular yellow Joy or Ajax, etc...pick
something you can see through and that does NOT contain any kind of hand
lotion.) Fill each lamp about 3/4 full of hot distilled(!) water. Cover
the bulb hole (the factory shipping cap is nice, but the clean palm of
your hand or the bulb itself will work, too) and vigorously
shake/slosh/swirl the lamp to agitate the hot soapy water. Do this over a
sink, and hold on with both hands so the lamp doesn't slip from your grip,
fall and break. Then, remove the bulb hole cover, turn the lamp
bulb-hole-down, and swirl the lamp to cause the water to drain from it in
a circular fashion. Repeat, then rinse the lamp repeatedly with hot
distilled(!) water until all traces of soapsuds are gone.

To dry the lamps, place them lens-down in your clean kitchen oven and close the oven door. Turn the oven to Bake/350 for 3 minutes, then turn the oven off and leave the door closed. In about an hour, your lamps should be thoroughly dry. If your oven is gas instead of electric, you'll probably need to run the oven for 5 minutes to get it up to temperature before turning it off.

There may be the odd water spot here and there when the lamps are dry; don't worry about it.

_________________
一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Thanks, I need to get some distilled water and I'll give it a try.


I don't think it's the reflector, but I am pretty close to the coast.

And if it matters, it's just the upper half of the lamp that's foggy. (It's a 5.25" round sealed-beam lookalike lamp)

_________________
Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

That did the trick.


Glass front and aluminized plastic reflector........

Are all H4 sealed beam replacement lamps like that?

_________________
Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

Lenses can be glass of several different types or polycarbonate. Reflector can be stamped steel, cast aluminum, thermoset resin, moulded thermoplastic...

_________________
一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Out of curiousity, what are Cibies made of?

_________________
Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

Stamped steel reflectors & optics grade soda-lime glass.

_________________
一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Hey Dan,
A bit off subject....but not enough to start a new thread.
What do you consider to be the best bang for the buck on headlight upgrades? Any particular favorite? Stock sealed beams never facinated me much........I like the look of those "clear-face" lights, but I think they are import junk.

_________________
225 Cubic Inches of Iron-Head American Muscle

225 bored .040 /.100 off block, Schneider Cam 224@.050~ .480 lift - Stock valves, blended bowls, Offenhauser intake with 500 Edelbrock carb

Heeeeeeere's DAN!

_________________
"When you find a big kettle of crazy, it's best not to stir it." - Pointy-haired Boss

1964 Valiant V200, 225/Pushbutton 904
BBD, CAI, HEI, LBP, AC, AM/FM/USB, EIEIO

You're right, all the clear-lens and "diamond cut" lamps are Chinese junk. And many of the lamps without window-clear lenses are also Chinese junk. The best bang for the buck really depends on how well you want to see (how big a bang do you want) and what your budget looks like (how many bucks can you spend). Good headlamp lens-reflector units start at $60 and go up to $239 (each!). You'll definitely want to put in relays to bring full power to the headlamps and take the workload off the headlamp and beam selector switches (and greatly reduce the current load going through the A1A circuit through the ammeter...), parts kit to do that is $45. And good bulbs run $9 to $20 apiece depending on what type you're after. Doing it up right is costly, especially if you're used to buying $12 sealed beams, but the upgrade pays for itself immediately with the first deer/moose/kid you don't hit, y'know what I mean?

Hit my site, ask me questions.

_________________
一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.